Centre of Exellence Advisory Group Members
Further information
Comcare's Centre of Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work will look at how employers can create a high quality work environment that strives for excellence and innovation through its people.
The Centre was created to provide strategic and practical solutions to improve mental health at work.
The Centre’s Advisory Group brings together the best thinking, and draws on research, practice and new ideas to identify solutions that meet worker needs and improve scheme outcomes in psychological health and wellbeing. The Advisory Group has provided a vision statement defining what the 21st century workplace will look like in order to deliver the health benefits of good work and promote the health and wellbeing of workers.
The membership of the Advisory Group includes:
- Dr Peter Cotton
- Professor Mark Creamer
- Associate Professor Eoin Killackey
- Associate Professor Peter Butterworth
- Dr Brenda Tait
- Mr David Morton
- Professor Susan Long
Dr Peter Cotton
National Director of Psychology Services, Medibank Health Solutions
Peter is a Clinical & Organisational Psychologist specialising in how organisational environments influence employee wellbeing and behavioural outcomes. He has published a number of book chapters and peer reviewed research papers in these areas. He works as an advisor to government and the corporate sector.
Peter has held numerous professional appointments including: subject matter expert in occupational mental health with the former National Occupational Safety Health Commission; the Mental Health Council of Australia; the National Mental Health Strategy Steering Group and the National Mental Health Workforce Review Group.
Peter served three terms as a Director on the Board of Directors of the Australian Psychological Society and was appointed a Fellow of the Society in 2002. Peter has also recently been appointed to the Commonwealth government’s newly established Centre for Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work.
Professor Mark Creamer
Professorial Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne
Mark Creamer is a clinical psychologist in private practice, internationally recognised for his work in post-traumatic mental health. He is a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and, until recently, was Director of the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health. Mark works with government and non-government organisations to improve the recognition, prevention and treatment of mental health problems in people exposed to stressful life events. Mark provides policy and service improvement advice, training, and research consultancy.
Over the last 25 years, Mark has worked extensively with individuals, communities, and organizations to facilitate recovery following incidents of natural and human origin. He regularly provides advice to State and Federal governments on psychosocial recovery programs and serves on many expert advisory committees. Mark’s research record is impressive, with over 120 journal articles, as well as 3 books and many book chapters.
Associate Professor Eoin Killackey
Director of Psychosocial Research and Clinical Psychologist, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre
Associate Professor Eóin Killackey is the Ronald Phillip Griffith Fellow, Principal Research Fellow, Director of Psychosocial Research and Clinical Psychologist at Orygen Youth Health Research Centre and the Centre for Youth Mental Health at The University of Melbourne. After completing his doctorate at Deakin University in 2000, he worked as a clinical psychologist in public and private, adolescent and adult mental health settings before coming to Orygen Youth Health Research Centre.
His research is primarily in the area of psychological and psychosocial interventions in first episode psychosis. He is particularly concerned with functional recovery which encompasses areas such as vocational rehabilitation, homelessness, sexual and physical health and parenting with a mental illness. He is also interested in evidence-based interventions in mental health and barriers to their implementation. He is a founder of the International First Episode Vocational Recovery group and was awarded the Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research’s Organon Medal.
Dr Peter Butterworth
Senior Research Fellow, ANU Centre for Mental Health Research
Peter Butterworth is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mental Health Research at The Australian National University. His research is concerned with identifying the social determinants and social consequences of common mental disorders, with a particular focus on employment, welfare receipt and social exclusion. He leads the Psychiatric Epidemiology and Social Issues (PEaSI) team. He undertakes epidemiological research that seeks to inform the development of policy and practice, and works closely with government and non-government organisations.
Dr Brenda Tait
Mental Health Advisory Committee, ACT division of General Practice
Dr Brenda Tait MBBS FRACGP is a general practitioner in a group practice at the Plaza Medical Centre Woden ACT where she has worked for the past 28 years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and has been an examiner for the college.
Dr Tait is involved in the training of GP Registrars with trainees practising in her practice. Her practice has been committed to teaching medical students initially from the University of Sydney and since its inauguration from the ANU Medical School. She served on the ACT Medical Board from 2000 to 2006 and has been chairman both of the Professional Standards Committee and of the Doctors Health Committee. Dr Tait has a long involvement with the ACT Division of General Practice. She was a Board Member from 1998 to 2002 and currently she is the chairperson of the Mental Health Advisory Committee to the Division. She has a wide range of medical interests but has a particular interest in mental health, womens health chronic medical conditions and medical education.
Mr David Morton
Director General Mental Health, Psychology and Rehabilitation in Joint Health Command, Australian Defence Force
David joined the Department of Defence in 2010 to the newly created position of Director General Mental Health, Psychology and Rehabilitation in Joint Health Command. His responsibilities include providing leadership to the mental health reform program currently underway in Australian Defence Force (ADF). Additionally, he is managing the transformation of rehabilitation policy and services to enable a comprehensive and integrated approach between the ADF and Department of Veterans’ Affairs for ill and injured personnel and their families.
David has a Bachelor of Social Work and has completed post graduate studies in Public Sector Management. He has over 25 years experience working in the delivery, management and policy development of mental health and counselling services. His clinical, management and policy development experience has focussed on responding to the mental health and wellbeing needs of veterans and their families and current defence members and their families.
Dr Susan Long
Professor of Creative and Sustainable Organisation at RMIT University in Melbourne
Professor Susan Long is an organisational researcher and consultant. Formerly Professor of Creative and Sustainable Organisation, she is now an adjunct Professor at RMIT and in Melbourne Australia where she supervises research students and conducts organisational research. As an organisational consultant she works with organisational change, executive coaching, board development, role analysis, team development and management training. She is a member of Comcare’s advisory board for the Center of Excellence for Research into Mental Health at Work.
She is currently President of the Psychoanalytic Studies Association of Australasia, was the founding President of Group Relations Australia and a past president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations. Her research interests involve participatory action research projects in industry, government organizations, health, education and correctional services and have attracted grants through the Australian research Council and industry.